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by William Walker Atkinson (Author)
Truth is discovered only by those who have the courage, faith, and persistency to climb the steep Path of Attainment; by those who brave the rocky, narrow footpath; by those who are appalled not when they gaze down upon the canyons far beneath them, seeing the multitude of crawling, creeping things that look like tiny ants-the world of men living on the lower planes of thought. A clear head, steady nerves, sound lungs, strong muscles, and sure feet are needed by him who would attain the heights. Do you possess these? Have you the courage to leave behind you all preconceived notions, superstitions, and prejudices of finite life? Have you the intellectual daring which alone will enable you to make foot places along the jagged cliffs in which your feet must be placed one after the other as you mount higher and higher? Have you the persistency which will cause you to proceed thus, step by step, mounting higher and higher toward Truth without becoming dizzy when you chance to look downward over the immense distances which you have traversed? Have you the constancy which will enable you to look upward and not downward, forward and not backward, on the Path, caring for naught except to reach the summit of the highest peak of the mountain of Truth? If you have these, O Seeker then are you invited to participate in the Quest for Truth, in the Inquiry for Ultimate Reality, which is Spirit. You are invited to pursue the quest for this underlying, fundamental, actual, enduring, absolute Truth, this Ultimate Verity-Reality. The journey is long, arduous, and tedious. Its path is strewn with jagged rocks, which torment and bruise the feet of the intellect. Its grade is steep, and the traveler ofttimes loses his breath and feels insecure of his footing. His head swims and becomes dizzy. The spiritual air is very rare, and the unaccustomed lungs of thought pant with the unusual exertion. For remember, the Path of Knowledge leading to the recognition and realization of Reality winds around the sides of the steepest and highest mountain of human mentation. He who reaches its summit-he who gains its highest peak-has found "that which, when known, all things are known."
